Day in Brisbane

On Sunday we went to Brisbane with our good friends Fiona & Geoff.


Karen at Southbank. This is part of a lovely riverside area in the CBD. It has salt water pool including artifical beach.


Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland located on the Brisbane River.






We enjoyed a sunny ride on one of the many taxi ferrys that transport people across the CBD.


Fiona & Geoff.

St Stephen's Church strikes a contrast against the modern streetscape.

One of several paddle boats that travel up & down the river.

Brisvegas at Night

I did not take the following photos. I thought I would include them to show the beauty of this city at night.

Australian Magpie

When we were living in the UK we noticed how different the UK magpie looked to the Australian Magpie.

We thought we would show you how different.

Hervey Bay & Inland South-East Queensland

Hervey Bay is situated on the Fraser Coast approximately 450kms (270miles) north of Brisbane. Surprising, it is about the same distance away from Toowoomba. This is because Toowoomba and Brisbane are almost apparel to each other attitudinally.





Kevin spent the last week at Hervey Bay attending Residential School at the University of Southern Queensland’s Fraser Coast campus. There are worse places to go to Uni!



Hervey Bay is Australia’s Whale watching capital.


KILKIVAN
Kilkivan is the northern gateway to the South Burnett (inland from the Fraser Coast & Sunshine Coast). It's located on the Wide Bay Highway approximately 286 kilometres north-west of Brisbane.

Kilkivan is a quiet and pleasant town with a population of around 400 people.


GOOMERI
Goomeri is approximately 20 kilometres south of Kilkivan and also along the Burnett Highway.

Goomeri is the largest town of the Kilkivan Shire and it has a population of around 500 residents.

The side of a farm shed is an interesting place to advertise the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival.

It does face the main road in, so I guess it works.

Toowoomba in the Early 1900's

These photos were sourced from the Toowoomba Historical Society's web site.

They are very interesting when you compare these photos against the modern photos we shot a few weeks ago.

Ruthven St (The High St) 1908

Ruthven St (The High St) 1908

Russell St 1908

Railway Station C1908



The Police Station C1900s



The Empire Theatre 1911

City Hall c1910

The Post Office C1908

Cooyar & Crows Nest

We went for a drive into the country yesterday. Crows Nest is approximately 45 minutes drive North-West of Toowoomba. Cooyar is over one hours drive along the same road.

The Cooyar Hotel is a fine example of a Queensland country pub.

ANZAC Place at Cooyar is a typical type of war memorial seen in small country towns.

There's not much left of this old shed. It looks like the farmer uses it to store hay bales for the cattle.


While there has been good rain lately, the land is still dry.

Crows Nest is a tidy little town.

The locals are proud of their place and there is a community spirit to preserve the old Queensland country town feel of yesteryear.

The Farmer's Arms, located in Cabarlah, is one of Queensland's oldest pubs. It commenced operating circa 1863. Considering this part of the Darling Downs area was settled in the 1850s, that's not bad going for this pub to be still operating.

Cabarlah is only 15-20minutes drive from Toowoomba.

Our Home

Click here to get a panoramic view of our house and the street where we live:
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=41+phillip+st+toowoomba&vps=1&jsv=159e&sll=-27.154477,152.111206&sspn=1.077739,1.757813&num=10&ie=UTF8&latlng=&ei=xGMZSvfIHIuYiAPzwODrCw&sig2=3_uLOwR-matQz6lKL2B17g&dtab=5

The Fair City of Toowoomba

TOOWOOMBA, THE GARDEN CITY OF QUEENSLAND.
Toowoomba City is situated on the Great Dividing Range and approximately 135km (82miles) from Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland. It is over 690 metres above sea level. Toowoomba and the surrounding area has a population of around 120,000. The area was settled in 1840.

Interesting Buildings in the City Centre


City Hall

Ruthven St (main street)



The Returned Services League Hall


Once a church, then a gallery. Now empty.

Built in the 1870s this was the old Courthouse. It is now a private home right in the middle of the CBD.

Once the Post Office, this 19th century building is now a cafe & business centre.

The Empire theatre was Toowoomba's picture theatre through the 1920s to the 1960s. It fell into ruin until the late 1990s when it was refurbished as the city's concert hall.

This is a former church, now small hall standing next to The Empire Theatre. This is a lovely building with fantastic acoustics.

This was the old Police Station. It is still used as an office building for the Police Department.

This was the Toowoomba Technical College. Kevin used to have an office in there when he worked for the college.

Pisa has its' leaning tower. Toowoomba has its' leaning toilet. Built in 1919 it is one of the oldest surviving examples of this characteristic building in Queensland.

The Rail station.

Around the City Centre

Grand Centre is the major shopping centre in the city centre

Garden Town is the other shopping centre in the CBD.

Toowoomba's Irish Club. Every town seems to have one. We have had a few good nights here we can tell you.

Fibber Magee is the other Irish pub. Of course, there are other pubs in the town.

Getting around Toowoomba

Vacy Hall was once a manor type home of the mid 19th century. It is now a guest home.

Clifford House was once the grandest manor near the city centre. It is now a restaurant and catering centre.

Smithfield Homestead began life as a grand private home in the 1800s. From 1970s-1980s it was a restaurant. It is now a private home.

The Bullshead Inn was built in 1847 by ex-convict William Horton. The Inn was used by Squatters as a meeting place. It was also a rest point for travellers making their way through the Darling Downs. The building is now owned by the National Trust of Queensland.

Harlaxton House

This building has fallen into disrepair for many years. Harlaxton House is a sandstone building completed in 1886 by JF Gregory. The home was named after Harlaxton Manor Nottingham UK.

St Patrick's Cathedral.

St Patrick's interior.

View over the mountain range

View from Picnic Point

To the right is Table Top Mountain. This is a popular place to climb.

View from Web Park.